David Johnson
04-22-2003, 11:20 PM
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/312122111.jpg
This week I started chasing springers on the Willamette in full force. And oh the memories.
Seeing familiar faces that I've known for almost 20 years. The sweet smell of budding cotton wood trees and watching my pink prawn disappear into the murky brown/green water, hoping it is swallowed by a chrome prize.
I started fishing the Willamette with my dad back when I was in Jr. High and through high school.
I used to get home from school before my dad got home from work and I'd have the boat ready to go with rods and bait. He'd back in and hook it up. We'd grab Mc D's on the way to the river and fish until 8.
We'd be out three or four nights a week and on weekends.
When I was a senior my dad started letting me take the boat out my self.
Once in a while some friends and me would even be spotted during a school day :shocked:
People ask me what my favorite fishing is. I tell them steelhead fishing or any time I can catch Chinook backbouncing. The Willamette is one of those places. I love to walk my lead along the bottom of the river in anticipation of that rap, rap fallowed by a tug, tug and line ripping out just before I let 'em have it. That pull is like having a puppy doing it's best at winning the game of tug-o-war and I love to let him win.
When the bite is on, everyone is jockeying to get in on the action. One boat hooks up and floats back with a fish on only to have two boats squeeze in to the one spot. Sometimes you got to be aggressive to get in on a bite.
And for eating there's no fish like a Springer. They have so much delicious oil in them they're flammable on the grill. A little melted butter and some garlic and brown sugar and the mouth is in heaven.
It can be frustrating fishing too. You can have boats all around you hooking up but have it be a spectator sport for your own boat. Springers can be the pickiest, most temperamental fish at times. There's been many a day that it's hard to buy a bite while you see just one or two other boats that are "hot" for the day clean house.
One reason the Willamette is so popular is a person never knows when the bite is going to turn on. Any day or even any time of day the bite could turn on. I think that's why there are so many people that fish it every day. You just never know.
It's also so close for so many peaple, you can be almost anywere in Portland and be on the river in half an hour or less.
Some things do change.
It used to be nice to have barge traffic on the river; they kept people anchored in the traditional hog line spots out of the channel. This allowed the other boats that back troll to co-exist. Now some days it's ridiculous with people dropping anchor all over the place like a bunch of disorganized shad fishermen.
I guess I can say the Willamette, it's spring Chinook and myself have a love/hate relationship.
I love it when it's good and hate it when it isn't.
Right now fish are spread from the mouth to the falls and there have been hot bites all up and down the river. Pick a section and stick to it and it will pay off
fishermand@aol.com
[ 04-23-2003, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: David Johnson ]
This week I started chasing springers on the Willamette in full force. And oh the memories.
Seeing familiar faces that I've known for almost 20 years. The sweet smell of budding cotton wood trees and watching my pink prawn disappear into the murky brown/green water, hoping it is swallowed by a chrome prize.
I started fishing the Willamette with my dad back when I was in Jr. High and through high school.
I used to get home from school before my dad got home from work and I'd have the boat ready to go with rods and bait. He'd back in and hook it up. We'd grab Mc D's on the way to the river and fish until 8.
We'd be out three or four nights a week and on weekends.
When I was a senior my dad started letting me take the boat out my self.
Once in a while some friends and me would even be spotted during a school day :shocked:
People ask me what my favorite fishing is. I tell them steelhead fishing or any time I can catch Chinook backbouncing. The Willamette is one of those places. I love to walk my lead along the bottom of the river in anticipation of that rap, rap fallowed by a tug, tug and line ripping out just before I let 'em have it. That pull is like having a puppy doing it's best at winning the game of tug-o-war and I love to let him win.
When the bite is on, everyone is jockeying to get in on the action. One boat hooks up and floats back with a fish on only to have two boats squeeze in to the one spot. Sometimes you got to be aggressive to get in on a bite.
And for eating there's no fish like a Springer. They have so much delicious oil in them they're flammable on the grill. A little melted butter and some garlic and brown sugar and the mouth is in heaven.
It can be frustrating fishing too. You can have boats all around you hooking up but have it be a spectator sport for your own boat. Springers can be the pickiest, most temperamental fish at times. There's been many a day that it's hard to buy a bite while you see just one or two other boats that are "hot" for the day clean house.
One reason the Willamette is so popular is a person never knows when the bite is going to turn on. Any day or even any time of day the bite could turn on. I think that's why there are so many people that fish it every day. You just never know.
It's also so close for so many peaple, you can be almost anywere in Portland and be on the river in half an hour or less.
Some things do change.
It used to be nice to have barge traffic on the river; they kept people anchored in the traditional hog line spots out of the channel. This allowed the other boats that back troll to co-exist. Now some days it's ridiculous with people dropping anchor all over the place like a bunch of disorganized shad fishermen.
I guess I can say the Willamette, it's spring Chinook and myself have a love/hate relationship.
I love it when it's good and hate it when it isn't.
Right now fish are spread from the mouth to the falls and there have been hot bites all up and down the river. Pick a section and stick to it and it will pay off
fishermand@aol.com
[ 04-23-2003, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: David Johnson ]